Three key figures from Koç University arrested for aligning with televangelist Adnan Oktar

Three administrators from Turkey's well-known Koç University were arrested for their alleged links to Adnan Oktar, a pro-government Islamic cult leader who was detained for several claims including sexual assaults and military espionage

Three Turkish academics and administrators from Koç University were arrested on July 16 during a police operation for being aligned with Adnan Oktar, an Islamist cult leader who had been detained last week for leading a criminal organization.

Ebru Barutçu, the private secretary of Koç University, Sermin Karakale, the vice dean of Medical Faculty, and Ebru Fişek, an administrative coordinator from the engineering faculty, were taken into custody and arrested for their alleged links to Oktar.

Known for his pro-government Islamist tendencies, Adnan Oktar was detained last week for having organized a criminal group with dozens of allegations, including sexual abuse, kidnapping, child abuse and military espionage. Oktar and several hundreds of his followers were detained.

Talking to soL News, some informants have said that the three detained people from Koç University had similar occupational positions, adding that they were fully authorized in the employment of university labourers while having close contact with students. The arrested administrators are alleged to have started working at the university at the same time, implying that Oktar’s disciples deliberately chose Koç University, a school owned by Turkey’s top capitalist family holding: Koç Group.

As the key administrators were arrested, the Koç University administration has issued a public statement on July 16, revealing that the related names were “decommissioned” after their detainments. Koç Group is one of the top capitalist circles of Turkey, managing many industrial assets and a university. A member of the family, Ali Koç, chairs Turkish football club Fenerbahçe.

Adnan Oktar, an infamous Islamist cult leader, is widely known with his TV programs with a “harem of kittens”, a group of female figures who escort him on talk shows. Oktar has also used the pen-name of Harun Yahya for decades and published anti-evolution, anti-Darwin and anti-communist publications around the country under that name.

He publicly targeted and attacked many progressive intellectuals including soL news portal authors.